the no-shopping bonanza

It's all wrapped up and you can't see what treasures I found, but believe me, for a no-shopping trip, I scored! I'll unwrap them when I get back to the beach and photograph everything.

First stop was a great pottery store in downtown Dolores where I bought three "face" plates, a dozen tiles for the soon-to-be redone upstairs half bath. Next stop was another pottery store on the way out of town; our favorite shop was not open today so we had to skip that one and try something else. Mr. C was looking for a new basin for the downstairs half bath. He found one. And he found some more tiles he likes when we re-do that little bath. So add those purchases to the stash. Last stop was our favorite very high-class talavera place. Some of the stuff at other places is very gaudy (NOSS - Not Our Sort of Stuff) but the Arte San Gabriel has fabulously beautiful things. I have bought many lovely things there; this time it was a handsome plant pot ~ terra cotta and white stripe ~ to hold something pretty up on our living room balcony.

Just think what I could have reported if we actually set out to BUY stuff!

That's how it went on a no-buy shopping spree. Tomorrow it's up to some shops here in SMA for a few tasteful non-buying items, especially some manta cloth slacks. This is a very lightweight cotton cloth that is perfect for the heat here and at the beach. Then we're going to Olé! Olé! for comida and perhaps a stop by the big library on the way home. Lots of paperbacks for sale. Tomorrow the local weekly English-language paper Atención goes on sale. It will fill us in on any music or theater going on in town over the weekend.

Today is the anniversary of my mother's birth. Happy 96th remembrance. My mother would have loved San Miguel. It's her kind of place!

a slow day in SMA

One important thing I left at home: my computer glasses. I was certain I put them in the computer bag but here I am without them. Makes working on this laptop very difficult. But I will press on.

We stuck pretty close to the house today, resting up from yesterday's long drive. We went out this morning to check out a couple of things; the fish restaurant for fish tacos, cole slaw and Indio beer. Yes, still open. Then up to the main square to check to see that the ATM is still there ~ yes ~ and to locate a new restaurant, Casa Allende. Yes, it's there, quite lovely, and we will go there for dinner on Sunday to celebrate my birthday. It is not one that ends with a "0" or a "5" so how bad can it be?

Then back to find the Italian deli we like so much. It's not there. I checked with the dueña of the fish restaurant. She told me where it has moved; we'll go there on Friday for cheese and sausages. Past the place with all the great oil cloth stuff ~ coin purses, tote bags, etc. Lots of funky clothes, too. Picked up a half of a roasted chicken with roasted veggies (including jalapeño peppers so hot they brought tears to my eyes and a cry for help escaped my lips!).

This afternoon I read, listened to music, fiddled with the TV ~ haven't had one for almost 5 months and hardly know what to do. Got it working but most everyting is in Spanish. Found PB S this evening and watched Ken Burns' "Civil War" for the umpteenth time.

Tomorrow we are going to Delores Hidalgo, home of great talavera pottery. This is the place where I am not going to do any shopping. Just wait until I tell you what I found!

Here are a few photos of the house. By the way, as soon as I laid eyes on the place I sent a message to the owners about reserving for next year. Already the place is booked until mid-April, which will be too late for us next year. So now the hunt begins for next year's perfect place.

Here's the view of a little patio off our downstairs bedroom. There is a bedroom/bath on the second floor but the bed is much too tiny for us. When you have a tall person such as myself, you need a nice BIG bed. We opted for one of the two downstairs guest rooms. Very comfortable.

This is our very well-appointed kitchen; big fridge, good oven, plenty of storage space. There are lots of good markets, including a big supermarket about 1 km. away, plus many smaller markets and the big central market in the center of town. I expect good things will happen here.

The second floor has two large patios; the upstairs bedroom looks out on them.


Then there is a 3rd floor mirador for watching the sunset. Here's a shot taken last evening, looking west from this spot.

And you can see all the neighboring houses from here, too. This beautiful purple bouganvilla spills over the wall into the street; you can see it a block away.

So that's day 1 in SMA, 2011. Tomorrow will bring more delights, as every day here does. And I'll relay them. Right now, it's time to go to bed after an exhausting day of doing almost nothing. That'll do it to you, no?

what a find!

I can't believe our outlandish luck at finding this place to rent. I'll attempt to do it justice by word and photo. Let me just say that the owners scored BIG TIME when they stumbled on it for sale a few years ago. Off the beaten path, on a tiny little alleyway but only about 4 or 5 blocks from the jardin, the center of town. The house has a garage but a washer and dryer have recently been moved in there so we can't get big Vincent inside. But there is a large "landing pad" outside the garage where he will be perfectly happy (and safe). Tonight we will go up to the third floor for a sunset view of the city. Photo opp, of course. Right now I am so tired I don't want to write anything further. But tomorrow is another day and I will attend to my responsibilities at that time. It will be worth you wait, I promise.

it's all legal

We picked up our FM3 ID cards this morning in Manzanillo which means we are finally here legally. Actually, we were legal before this but our FM3's had expired last month and I don't like this waiting period. Feels too much like limbo. So we're now good to come in and out of the country for another year without a visa or new car papers. We also have our own CURP numbers (Clave Única de Registro de Población), sort of a Mexican Social Security number. You need this number if you want to get a cell phone (why, I don't know) or a driver's license (should you ever been that foolish).

I'm packed and ready to leave early tomorrow morning for our mountain holiday in San Miguel. This is the latest we've ever been; it will be quite warm. Mr. C's Mexican Primroses are safely in Marie's care while we are gone; they will probably burst into full bloom in the next couple of days. I remember once, years ago, he was trying to germinate a Flamboyant tree from seeds we had brought home from Guadaloupe. We took the pot with us on a trip up to Tlaquepaque so he could tend to it daily. Sheesh! But not this time; he's leaving the primroses with a babysitter.

The house we have rented has both WiFi and broadband so there will be no interruption in your reading pleasure ~ I hope.

note on a passing

When the news came last week of the death of Elizabeth Taylor, I was reminded of the time when I was nine or 10 years old that I saw her, up close and personal. I went with my father to the MGM studio to visit the set of "Father of the Bride." My uncle Malcolm was an art director at MGM and, although he was not working on that particular movie, he asked my father if he would add some "technical advice" on the wedding ceremony scene. Well, who could say no? Part of the movie was filmed on the lot, but the actual wedding was filmed at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills.

I remember riding in the car to the studio lot, so antsy and squirmy. The idea of seeing her ~ I had seen both "Lassie Come Home" and "National Velvet" by that time and thought she was wonderful ~ caused great excitement. Then we rolled up to the gate, my father told the guard who he was and where we were going, and the next thing we were walking into a huge hangar-like sound stage where people were scurrying around setting up lights and other equipment. My father warned me to be quiet and not to squeal when I saw the "star." But there she was, a radiantly beautiful girl, all of 18, about to get married, or so I thought. It turned out that this was to be a rehearsal of the wedding scenes; processing up the aisle, where to stand, who goes where, who says what, basically how the Anglican marriage ceremony is conducted.

And then it was over. My father took my hand and brought me over to where the cast was standing. I said "How do you do?" and shook hands with everyone. When I shook her hand, she leaned down and said "Hello, Susan," in a very soft, sweet voice. And yes, she did have violet eyes. I probably blushed beet red but I don't remember. My father chatted with my uncle while I oogled the actors, and then we went home. I do remember telling my mother, "She said "hello" to me!"

So that's the story of how my life-long fascination with Elizabeth Taylor began. The whole thing started with only two words, "Hello, Susan" but I will never forget them. RIP, Liz.

the persistent gardener

You may recall some months back I posted this photo of Mr. C's Mexican Primrose starts. He had 5 pots of these little beauties, each one with a different show of foliage. No explanation for that.


As of yesterday these leggy little things have started blossoming. The flowers are a pale yellow with a bright yellow stamen. The Mexican Primrose bushes at home have blossoms of a different shape, with rounder petals of a deeper pink hue. The five plants are all loaded with buds ready to burst open. Probably while we are up in San Miguel, unfortunately.

This is quite a triumph for the resident agronomist. He has tried growing other things, such as lemon cucumbers (one matured about the size of a walnut), cranberry tomatoes (we got three), other flowers (coreopsis ~ nada). But this year his Mexican Sunflowers blossomed, one zinnia from the entire seed packet made a showing, and now the primroses. It's been a banner gardening year!

Daylight Savings Time begins for us tonight. Another hour to enjoy the glorious sunshine and warm evenings.

only one more evening at Dago's

I glanced at the calendar and realized that we have only one more dinner at Dago's this season. Next week we'll be in San Miguel, the following Friday is iffy because of an invite to a big comida at the Morelos Hotel at mid-day featuring their famous chiles rellenos which will probably preclude a dinner later. On Good Friday the crowds may be overwhelming. So that leaves the last Friday in the month. Even though it's Pasqua the hoards will have thinned down and perhaps we can have a final shrimp feed. My dinner tonight underlined what I said in an earlier post; best shrimp on the malecón. I said "good bye" to Sibyl and Paul for this season. They have started building a house about a block from here; first step is a beautiful wall around the property. Actual constructions of the house starts next year.

Re. yesterday's perusal of someone's "mystery" library. Not my sort of stuff. More pot-boiler style than those I am interested in. However I did bring home a Harlan Coben; he's always fun. Otherwise, I left empty handed. But the afternoon was quite delightful; domino game followed by a good dose of chat and the exchange of "getting to know you" information. The hostess and her spouse are from Washington state and plan to be here for several months during the winter. Not full-timers at this point.

Don't know what's on tap tomorrow since I won't be doing the opera, although I might just tune in for a moment to give a listen. More "closing up" activities, I expect. That means bagging up pillows, packing away clothes not to be worn again this season. That means that I'll wear the same old shorts and shirts for the next month. Mr. C has already begun the shut-down by taking down the blades from the ceiling fans downstairs and wrapping the motors in plastic bags, getting the small bedroom ready for it's share of boxes and bags of stuff. I'm happy to do as much as possible in advance of our SMA trip; less to do when we get back.

I noted that we really didn't seem to have much we were planning to take home, far less than usual. Of course, I say that before we go to SMA.

"There's not going to be much shopping in San Miguel this year," he noted.

Ha! That's what he thinks!